Fan the Flames (39 page)

“But mapping the cabin and taking off work so you can help me arrange a guide…” Ellie shook her head. “That's going above and beyond. So, thank you. I really appreciate it.”

“Don't count your guide until he's hatched out of his grumpy, monosyllabic egg,” Lou warned.

After struggling with that for several seconds, Ellie finally asked, “What?”

Callum gave an amused cough. “She means that it's likely George won't agree to be your guide.”

“But he's a search and rescue volunteer, right? Doesn't that mean he likes to help people?” Even as she said the words, Joseph's image popped into her head, and she shuddered.

“Yes, but I heard it was like pulling teeth to get him on the team.” Lou was leaning so far forward between the seats that she was level with Callum and Ellie.

Giving her an irritated glance, Callum snapped, “Sparks, sit back and put on your seatbelt.”

His sharp tone would've made Ellie scramble to do his bidding, but Lou just rolled her eyes. “We're a block away from Levi's. Just don't crash the truck, and I'll be fine. Actually, please don't crash the truck, since it's currently our only mode of transport.”

“You don't have a car?” Ellie asked. In the city, with the public transportation, being vehicle-less was doable. In the mountains, though, it would be almost impossible not to have a vehicle.

“I did. It was a lovely truck, but it burned.”

That was unexpected. Callum was parking the pickup as Ellie replied, “Burned? In an accident?”

“No. It was definitely on purpose.”

“What happened?” Mountain living was apparently more treacherous than Ellie had imagined.

Lou made a face. “Ugh. Stupid Clay happened. Homicidal, arsonistic stalker.”

“I don't think arsonistic is a word.” Callum's voice came from Ellie's open door, and she jumped. Caught up in Lou's abbreviated tale, she hadn't notice him circling to her side of the truck.

“It should be,” Lou said as Ellie hurried to climb out of the pickup. Callum caught her arm to steady her as she landed on the ground, but her new boots were a huge improvement on her high-heeled booties. She didn't even slip at all that time. Ellie stepped aside so Callum could help Lou out of the truck.

“Homicidal?” Ellie picked out what she felt was the most critical part of Lou's explanation. “Do you think he was the one who killed Mr. Gray?”

“Nope. Clay just tried to kill Callum, then me. The timeline wasn't right for him to kill Willard.”

As they walked toward an unassuming building that the critical part of Ellie would have called a shack, she stared at Lou with wide eyes. “He tried to kill you both? Is he in jail now?”

“Dead.” Lou's face was grim until Callum curled an arm around her, giving her a squeeze before releasing her to reach for the door to Levi's.

“Oh.” Not sure how to respond to that—should she say she was sorry? Or perhaps offer congratulations?—Ellie let it drop. “Things are very…uh,
interesting
here.”

“Not usually,” Lou said as she ducked under Callum's arm. “Just in the past couple of months. Otherwise, the big news around town is who is dating whom. This murder stuff is new.”

“Oh.” Her voice was faint as she followed Lou into the restaurant. What was she getting herself into?

“Ellie!” Joseph slid out of a booth and intercepted them. Ellie flinched and slipped behind Callum so she could use him as a shield. The eight or so people remaining at Joseph's table looked over curiously. “Hey, Callum. Good to see you again. Lou, glad to see you brought your hot friend.”

“Hi, Joseph,” Lou greeted, waving to the people he'd abandoned at his booth. “George isn't here with you guys, is he?”

He snorted. “Holloway? The day he comes to a social event is the day we'll all be ice skating in hell. The only reason he shows up for training is because it's required.”

“Oh. That's okay. We'll just meet up with him at Station One. Thanks.” Lou took a step toward an empty table, but Joseph shifted to block her way.

“Why do you need to talk to Holloway?” he asked.

“None of your business, you nosy Nellie.” Lou shouldered past him. “I'm not fueling the gossip train tonight.”

“Come on, Lou!” Joseph called after her, smiling but with an edge to his words. “Don't leave me in suspense!”

Ellie slipped past him while he was occupied with teasing Lou, hoping to sneak by unnoticed, but he caught her wrist, pulling her to a halt. Ellie's stomach twisted with nerves. Callum stopped, too, his eyes watchful.

“Want to sit with us?” Joseph asked, tipping his head to indicate the booth he'd just left. “We can be a wild bunch, but I promise you'll be entertained.”

“Thank you, but no.” She tried to keep her smile polite but dismissive while attempting to tug her hand free.

His grip wasn't painful, but it was unyielding. “How long will you be in town? I have training tonight, but I'd love to take you out another time.”

“Sorry.” She pulled harder against his hold, and her smile was turning into more of a grimace. Usually she was smoother about deflecting unwanted male attention, but Joseph frankly terrified her. “I'm leaving tomorrow.” She wasn't sure what he'd thought was going to happen when he let himself into her motel room, or when he followed her into the bathroom, or when he grabbed her like he somehow had the right. Whether or not he intended anything darker by his aggressive display, he was
dangerous
. Even if he never moved beyond being creepy and pushy, she planned to stay well away from him.

“Tonight after training, then?”

“Acconcio.” Callum's voice was quiet, but it caught both Joseph and Ellie's attention. “Enough.”

After a long moment—during which Ellie was afraid Callum's order had backfired and Joseph would cling to her more firmly in a macho hissy fit—the fingers around her wrist tightened slightly and then finally released. With a silent sigh of relief, Ellie hurried to join Lou where she was standing next to a table. As Ellie passed him, Callum fell in behind her.

“What was that?” Lou asked when they reached her. “I couldn't hear over the babble of the masses.” She waved an arm to indicate the crowded, noisy restaurant.

Callum pulled out Lou's chair and then sat next to her. Across the table, Ellie sat facing them with her back to the rest of the restaurant.

“Acconcio,” Callum answered when Ellie hesitated. “He's never understood the word no.”

“Oh.” Making a sympathetic face at Ellie, Lou said, “I've heard he thinks he's all that and a bag of chips with the ladies. He's never been pushy with me, though—probably since he knows Callum would bring the pain if he tried. Or else he doesn't think I'm hot.”

“I don't see how he couldn't,” Ellie said, needing to turn the conversation away from Joseph so her frantic heartbeat could slow. “Find you hot, I mean. In a purely esthetic way, of course. I'm not hitting on you or anything, so I hope my saying that didn't just make things awkward.”

Lou was laughing by the time Ellie had finished her babbling monologue. “Thank you.”

Even Callum was smiling, but he sobered quickly as he met Ellie's eyes. “You have to be direct with guys like that. Don't worry about hurting their feelings.”

“I know.” She flushed and dropped her gaze to the table, fiddling with the wire rack holding the salt and pepper shakers. “I just hate confrontation. I'm kind of a wimp.”

Reaching across the table, Lou caught one of Ellie's fidgeting hands and squeezed. “I used to be the wimpiest wimp that ever wimped, and even I managed to change. Just practice being firm. It'll get easier.”

“Thanks.” Ellie squeezed back and then withdrew her hand, desperately wanting to switch topics. Since her father was constantly on her mind, she went with that. “I know you said you didn't have much luck talking with Baxter, but did you see him at all?”

“Nope.” Lou took the abrupt subject change in stride. “I tried going to Willard's house, but your dad would never answer the door. I'm pretty sure he was there, too, since I could hear him moving around inside. Either he was home, or there's some jumbo-sized packrats in there.”

“Probably both,” Callum interjected.

“He's definitely not there now.” Ellie thought about the empty cabin, and she realized her fingertip was heading toward her mouth. Tucking it back into her lap, she locked her other hand around it to keep it still. “Do you think he'll even make it to the cabin?”

“Don't start thinking about possible bad scenarios,” Lou told her firmly. “You'll drive yourself crazy. You have a plan—go to the cabin and see if Baxter's there. If he's not, then you can figure out the next step. No sense in worrying about it yet.”

Although Ellie knew Lou was right, keeping her ricocheting thoughts in line was easier said than done.

“Sorry!” A heavy-set woman arrived at their table and began handing over menus and water glasses. “It's crazy tonight. Not that it's not crazy most nights, but the DuBois family was here earlier, so that put me behind.”

Lou winced. “Man, those kids are hellions. Did they decorate the walls with the pulled pork again?”

“Hellions is a nice way to put it,” the server growled in a dark voice. “And I wish redecorating was all they'd done.” Her tone lightened until it was almost cheerful. “I'll be back in a minute to take your order.”

“But…” Lou trailed off when the woman headed toward another table. “Shoot. Now I'm dying to know what the DuBois kids did.”

“I think you'll survive the suspense,” Callum said dryly.

“I know.” Her tone was mournful. “But I'm just so
curious
now.”

He laughed softly, reaching over to take her hand. They exchanged a look so tender that Ellie, feeling like a voyeur, had to look away.

When Lou cleared her throat, Ellie knew it was safe to focus on the couple across from her again. “So, what do you do in Chicago?” Lou asked.

“I work at a clothing boutique.” Her mom had made the occasional pointed comment about her daughter being a twenty-seven-year-old college graduate still working in retail, but Ellie didn't care. Despite Chelsea's quirks and the occasional ornery customer, she enjoyed her job. She didn't make much money, but Grandpa Scott had left her an inheritance, allowing her to buy her condo, with enough left over for a decent nest egg. The rescue-Baxter project might eat a considerable chunk of that egg, though. “It reminds me a little of the Screaming Moose, although with less flannel.”

Lou grinned. “Isn't Barbara great? The word around town is that she was a financial planner in New York, but then she had a nervous breakdown, moved here, and bought the Moose. Mind you, the Simpson gossip chain is kind of like a game of telephone, so the accuracy of this information is highly suspect. Anyway, the store had been a cheesy tourist place, selling T-shirts and polished rocks, things like that. She turned it into a…well, slightly less cheesy tourist place.”

With a laugh, Ellie relaxed a little. “How do you like working at The Coffee Spot?”

“It's good, most of the time. Much better than lawyering.”

“You used to be a lawyer?” Ellie's eyebrows shot up in surprise.

“Yes.” Her shamed tone made it sound like she was confessing a crime. “Kind of. I went through all the school and even passed the Bar, but I bailed before I accepted a position at a firm. I finally grew a pair and escaped from under my parents' thumbs by running out here and becoming a barista.”

After considering that for a few seconds, Ellie said, “That was brave.”

“The first brave thing I've done.”

“Not the last, though,” Callum added, drawing a sweet smile from Lou.

Watching them, Ellie desperately wished she were brave.

* * *

Even though her stomach was churning with nerves at the thought of her upcoming conversation—or one-sided conversation, most likely—with George Holloway, Ellie found her first visit to a fire station to be interesting. Lou gave her a quick tour after Callum was pulled aside by the fire chief. Close up, the trucks were huge. There also seemed to be an inordinate number of very attractive men. After her experience with Joseph earlier, though, she kept her greetings brief and her smile impersonal when Lou introduced her to some of them.

“There he is!” Lou announced in a loud whisper, drawing the attention of several firemen standing close by.

“Who?” one of them asked, grinning.

“No one for you to be concerned about, Soup.” Grabbing Ellie's hand, Lou hurried toward the other side of the training room.

“Lou!” the fireman whined, laughter in his voice. “Don't be an information tease!”

“Just a fair warning, Ellie,” Lou muttered quietly, “these guys are the worst gossips in Simpson, so don't say anything in front of them that you don't want everyone and their dog to know.”

“Got it. Thanks.” Although she smiled, it slipped away quickly when she spotted the bearded giant who held the ability to crush her newfound hope into itty-bitty pieces. Nerves dug sharp claws into her stomach lining. This was it.

“George!” Lou greeted when they were still several feet away from him. Instead of answering, he just silently watched their approach.

Ellie swallowed, grateful that Lou was there to force her feet to move. If she'd been alone, Ellie would probably have been too chicken to even get near the intimidating man, much less speak to him. She used her free hand to tug down her jacket, hoping that it wasn't gathering in an unflattering lump at her midsection.

“Hi, George.” Lou stopped right in front of him, and Ellie had to catch herself before momentum made her crash into the other woman. “This is Ellie Price. Her dad is missing, most likely heading to her grandpa's cabin on the west side of Blue Hook National Forest, and she was hoping to hire you as a wilderness guide to take her to the cabin. Ellie, this is George Holloway, who knows this area like I know the inside of The Coffee Spot.” When Lou jerked on her hand, Ellie stumbled forward another step and blushed. Why was she so uncoordinated around this man? She'd always been prone to turning red at the drop of a hat, but being around George Holloway left her especially flushed and flustered. “I'll leave you two to discuss business terms.” With that, Lou walked away.